“Counter right to the face! Ooooh, what is this? He’s down! Not missing the opportunity, he’s unleashing the offense! Left, right, keep pounding!”
The excitement is rising.
The cheers of the audience grow louder with every passing moment.
As someone in front suddenly stands up, Na-me shouts, “I can’t see!”
In a scene where everyone is immersed in the match, Love closes her eyes.
‘The game content isn’t getting into my head…’
There’s a saying that talent for Magic Battles is gifted by the heavens.
The ability to manipulate mana that spreads across the world as if it’s yours alone.
A robust Aura Heart that can withstand mana exhaustion right until the last moment.
And abundant knowledge to create magic circles, plus innate combat intelligence.
Love firmly believed that she is that person, the chosen one by the heavens.
Clang-!
“Ugh, the barrier on the right leg has been broken! No more repairs from now on! Tap tap tap! Player Lee Tae-baek ends the game! Announcing the great leap of Sephiron!”
[The barrier on the leg has completely shattered. Oh my god…!]
Love was comparing the National Martial Arts Tournament to a past match.
[Honey!]
A match her father fought during his active days.
Olivia and Love, the sisters, were also there 11 years ago.
[Ugh, what a terrible accident. Looks like Albatus’ low kick broke the shin. The leg is a wreck.]
In America, even now, matches of Magic Battles that stray from formal sports rules are often held.
By reducing the size of the arena, increasing mana concentration, and setting the barrier very thin, the cruelty of the matches was maximized, most commonly taking place in underground venues without sunlight.
Known as underground fighting arenas.
[Don’t look, Love…!]
Her mother screams, Olivia covers her younger sibling’s eyes with both hands.
But through her sister’s clumsy shield, the scene of her father in pain was revealed.
The father, who had been like a superhero, was taken away on a stretcher after receiving first aid.
The family rushed up to the surface following their father.
Seeing her father’s leg twisted in an unbendable direction, Love felt as if her own leg was in pain, bursting into tears.
[Sniff… Sob… Dad, is he dead?]
[Huff. Huff… Sniff…]
[Dad, I’ll get revenge for you, so don’t be in pain…]
At that moment, Love’s father smiled faintly despite the pain.
It must have been both cute and absurd for a six-year-old girl to utter ‘revenge.’
[Thank you, Love.]
Yet, her father’s warm words, often absent because of work, made Love fall into her first love.
[When I grow up, I’ll be like Dad—]
[From now on, our family will no longer have Magic Battles.]
Her mother’s declaration didn’t last three years.
It started when her older sister Olivia began to shine at the Academy.
When Love realized her mother had let Olivia compete in a school tournament, she erupted like fire.
Later, it was said that the cost of the fence they ruined amounted to 3 million won.
[If you lose even once, I won’t let you do it again! Just so you know! Honestly, what’s with this brat’s stubbornness?]
[I inherited Mom’s personality!]
Thanks to her mother’s full support, Olivia and Love achieved so many victories it would be hard to list them all.
[From now on, we’re going to live in Korea.]
[Why?]
[Because of that bastard faction, there are too few practice opportunities in the U.S. It would be better for you all to compete fairly, right?]
Love’s mother decided to bring her daughters, who suffered from racial discrimination and reverse discrimination, back to their homeland.
Many times she felt resentful towards her mother for the Spartan, no, the Daechi-dong style training.
But since the whole family had rushed in to focus only on the National Exchange Tournament, Love couldn’t afford to let her expectations down.
And then.
[The match is over! 2053 France National Exchange Tournament 3rd/4th match, the arrow of the Republic of Korea has knocked down the sun of Argentina twice to secure a precious 3rd place!]
[Hahaha, it seems Love Kim still has stamina left! She’s running around the arena, stirring up applause from the audience. So energizing to see!]
[Not dwelling on the results of the last semi-final, Love Kim put on a magnificent performance. I think it’s truly a beautiful sight.]
‘I did it! I placed 3rd!’
The slight disappointment from the semi-finals washed away in a perfect and beautiful game.
The happiness one feels when they achieve a goal they’ve chased for years is indescribable.
Love, lost in ecstasy, thought she should slowly enjoy her impending popularity.
However, the reality ahead was cruel.
*
After watching the preliminaries of the National Martial Arts Tournament, we moved to a nearby dak-galbi restaurant.
“At that time, I never imagined… I thought my life would be smooth sailing once the National Exchange Tournament was over… No, honestly, if this were a shounen manga, wouldn’t it be normal to end here? Na-me, am I right or not?”
Love vented her frustration at me.
“Then when I was in Italy, was it because you were busy that you couldn’t come, Love Unni?”
“Yeah, there were a lot of things like advertisement schedules. I cried watching the snowball fight broadcast.”
“You cried? Why?”
“Because you two were having so much fun… Should I give you my apron, Na-me?”
“Yeah. You knew you had to pay a penalty, huh?”
“Actually, there were signs from then. They said we’d have to share the penalty for Coach Yeom… Back then, I was reassured when the Martial Association staff said that wouldn’t happen. But as expected, they gave us 3 billion after taking it out!”
Sizzle sizzle-
As the spatula stirred the dak-galbi, emotions began to pour in.
Thud-!
Love swatted Olivia’s chopsticks away with the spatula.
“It’s still not cooked.”
“I like it not cooked.”
“Oh come on, why are you making things stressful too?!”
“Alright, alright, calm down. It’s just that my younger sibling is sensitive with her high school junior disease. Understand.”
Anyway, it seemed Love’s family was having a tough time too.
While the lawsuit was in progress, it takes at least 4 or 5 years, so you can’t just wait for the result indefinitely.
“By the way, I thought Love Unni didn’t invite me because she hated me?”
“Huh? Why would I hate Na-me? We got along great…! We even bathed together naked.”
Cough! You two bathed naked together?!
“No, not like that. We just did some stripping.”
“Ah, I see.”
“Oops, it’s done. Why did you think that, Na-me?”
“After the National Exchange Tournament, I thought it might be that Love Unni didn’t get enough spotlight because of what I did. It was supposed to be a moment to be celebrated by many.”
“Not at all! On the contrary, were you not the one who made a name for herself after disappearing right after announcing Human Transmutation? I became the complete famous one!”
“Glad to hear that. It’s a relief.”
“Oh, so that’s what you were worried about. Why is Na-me so good-hearted? I wish everyone in the world was only half as good as you. Damn scammers… Is that alright?”
“As long as it doesn’t mess up my hair, head pats are always welcome.”
After that, we began serious discussions about hosting a private tournament.
The first thing to nail down was, above all, the schedule.
“I can’t do the week after next. I have to go to Sweden.”
“Sweden? What for?”
“To attend the Nobel Prize ceremony.”
Cough cough! Wait a minute… suddenly, my mind is sharp! Didn’t you say you received three Nobel Prizes this year? Who the hell are you? Smart and strong. Are you a new kind of human?*
“Ahh, you’re messing with my brain…!”
Shoving Love away, I began to search for my share of dak-galbi again.
‘When did it get this small?’
Olivia’s plate had a mountain of chicken.
Not the type to eat vegetables? Rival alert.
“Let’s do it next weekend.”
“Huff… Is it right to have a competition in just a week without even training or getting fit? I think I’ve gained a little belly fat.”
“I’ve lost a lot of muscle lately living in capsules too. Want to feel?”
“No, you’ve always only had bones anyway, Na-me…”
Squish squish-
Love started kneading my arm, then her expression turned pitiful.
Anyway, the schedule was passed.
“Done. This wraps up the meeting.”
No, stop eating. Just a little meat.
“Is it over…? We still need to figure out the arena with barriers, check the vendors, book the judges and commentators, get the medical staff, and if we’re going to have a fan meeting, we’ll need to make souvenirs and goods too!”
“That’s something our staff should be looking into, so you don’t have to worry. There are over 20 employees at NoName Entertainment.”
I snatched the last piece of chicken mid-air and popped it into my mouth.
Olivia’s deadly glare was blazing.
Hmph, thanks to that, it tasted twice as good!
“Na-me will handle it well. Why worry?”
“Well, I mean. Na-me, we did get help from our parents’ acquaintances to pay back, right? We’re not drowning in debt or anything, so we don’t have to give away all our profits. Just the thought of helping is really appreciated.”
I neatly set down my chopsticks.
“Ha.”
“Huh? Where did all the meat that was here go? Why is there only vegetables and rice cakes?!”
“You’re under a misapprehension, Love Unni… Do you really think that’s fight money?”
“What do you mean?”
“That’s your life subsidy.”
“…!”
Wiping her mouth stained with red sauce, she propped her chin while saying.
“Honestly, dropping out while leaving 10% of the barrier still up doesn’t satisfy you either, does it? Let’s fight under the legal minimum 3% rule.”
Honestly, you feel no pain until the barrier drops to 20%.
You only start to feel achy and groan when it hits at least 15%.
At my provocation, Love Kim’s eyes sparkled with excitement, as she responded eagerly.
“Hehe, are you also an addict? See, Unni, those chosen by the heavens have a different mindset! Let’s fight just as I wanted, Na-me!”
“Let’s add 3 servings of dak-galbi here.”
